Chapter 18) Bloodshed Twins
Cael tried to pull up his system interface, fingers twitching in the air as if willing the screen to appear faster. The familiar menu blinked to life, and his eyes shot straight to the three core combat skills.
A cold realization hit him like a slap.
All three of them… every single one, was locked behind pain. Pain he hadn't felt yet.
The first one - Bloodlash, needed blood to trigger. But not a drop had spilled from him. The other two were just as useless without injury.
"Damn it…" he muttered under his breath, his pulse racing.
His gaze darted to Vey.
Vey was struggling, jaw clenched, but his arms were pinned in an iron grip by one of their captors. Whoever held him wasn't just strong, they'd bound his wrists tight, cutting off even the smallest movement. No movement meant no casting. No casting meant no skills.
For the first time in hours, a sinking feeling clawed at Cael's gut.
Then… from the darkness ahead, two shapes began to take form. Shadows stretching over the floor until they stopped just a few steps away.
Slowly, deliberately, the figures reached up and pushed back their hoods.
Two girls.
They couldn't have been older than nineteen, identical twins, eyes sharp and unreadable. Each of them had a cigarette lazily dangling from their lips, smoke curling upward in thin, ghostly strands.
One whispered something to the other, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Then, in perfect sync, they stepped closer.
---
They exchanged a few quiet words to each other, the serious one muttering something low and clipped, while the cheerful one chuckled under her breath, the smoke curling between them like a shared secret.
The serious twin's voice cut through the silence, cold and steady. "So… these are the ones causing all the noise?"
Vey narrowed his eyes but stayed silent. The cheerful twin grinned wider, tilting her head. "Come on, sis, they don't look that scary. I mean…" she eyed Cael up and down with playful curiosity, "...he's a bit tense, but this one? Looks like he might faint if I just blow smoke in his face."
Vey let out a short, humorless laugh. "Try it. You might regret it."
The cheerful one's smile sharpened. "Ooh, you are not that scary, chill..."
The serious twin ignored the exchange, her eyes locking onto Cael's. "You tried to fight… But for sure you failed. Now… you're going to answer questions."
Cael's jaw tightened. "And if I don't?"
Her tone didn't rise, didn't waver, it was the kind of calm that came from knowing she already had control. "Then you'll wish you had."
The cheerful one leaned closer to Vey, lowering her voice as if sharing gossip. "She's not bluffing, by the way."
The space between the four of them felt like it was closing in, every breath tight with tension.
---
The serious twin's gaze didn't waver as she stepped close enough for Cael to see the faint reflection of the dim light in her eyes.
"Names mean nothing to you, but since you're about to be in over your heads… I'm Astrein. And this," she tilted her head toward her smiling counterpart, "is Lumeis."
Lumeis blew out a lazy puff of smoke, her grin never faltering. "Pleasure. Though I'm guessing you won't feel the same in a few minutes."
"What I want to know is why two kids like you are poking your noses into business you shouldn't even know exists. You're young… too young for this game."
Cael's lips curled into a half-smirk, his voice low but sharp. "You look about nineteen yourself. So what the hell gives you the right to tell us what game we can or can't play?"
Lumeis chuckled, flicking the ash from her cigarette onto the cracked floor. "Oh, I like him. He's got a bit of bite."
Astrein's expression stayed carved in ice. "It's not about age. It's about survival. And you two are walking blind into something that will eat you alive."
Vey grinned to her "If that's a threat, you're doing a lot of talking instead of acting."
Lumeis leaned forward with a playful glint. "We could change that if you're bored."
Astrein cut in, her voice sharp as a blade. "Enough now... We'll ask one more time.. why in the hell are you here?"
Cael met her gaze without blinking. "Guess you'll just have to figure that out yourself."
The moment stretched, the silence thick with challenge. Somewhere in that pause, the air shifted, like the calm before a sudden storm.
---
Astrein's eyes narrowed to razor-thin slits as she took a slow drag from her cigarette, then let the smoke curl lazily between them.
"Alright… enough dancing around. Let's cut the shit. You're going to tell us exactly what you're doing here, and who you're working with."
Cael said nothing, jaw tight. Vey glanced at him, equally silent.
Lumeis: "Oh, playing tough guys now? Cute." She laughed, the sound warm but mocking. "But here's the thing, people who keep their mouths shut don't last long. Dayum, you really gonna make us work for it?"
Cael: "You hell, what the hell do you want from us?"
Astrein: "Answers. And patience isn't one of my virtues."
She moved so fast Cael barely saw her coming, her fist cracked across his jaw, the shock rattling his teeth. Vey tried to jerk forward, but Lumeis shoved him back against the wall, pinning his arms with casual strength.
Vey: "Tch… let go, you psycho!"
Lumeis: "Psycho? Oh, honey, you ain't seen psycho yet."
Another blow, this time to Vey's ribs. The air punched out of him in a harsh gasp.
Astrein crouched down in front of Cael, her icy stare locking with his. "You know a lot more about the Crimson Fang than you're admitting."
Cael's eyes flickered in shock."The hell are you talking about?"
Vey twisted against Lumeis's grip, equally stunned. "How the hell would you know that?"
Lumeis's grin widened, almost enjoying the moment. "Oh, we know plenty. Especially about you, Cael."
Cael's voice was low, dangerous. "Where the hell did you get that?"
Lumeis tilted her head, eyes glinting in the dim light. "Tell me, Cael… did your parents ever tell you anything worth listening to?"
Something inside Cael snapped, the muscles in his jaw tightened, his hands clenched, but with Vey restrained and no damage taken, his system skills still wouldn't respond. He could only glare, rage boiling in his chest with nowhere to go.
The silence that followed was suffocating. The interrogation had shifted, this wasn't about both of them anymore. All of Astrein's cold focus, and Lumeis's playful cruelty, was aimed squarely at him now.
---
Vey strained against the rope cutting into his wrists, his voice sharp. "The hell you want from us?! Damn, this is bullshit!"
Lumeis shot him a glance, smirking. "You'll get your turn, sweetheart. Right now? We're talking to your buddy here."
All eyes were on Cael now. Astrein crouched low, her cigarette dangling between two fingers, ash falling dangerously close to his boots. "Start talking. Where the hell did you hear about the Crimson Fang?"
Cael: "What the hell are you even talking about? I don't know shit about your, "
Astrein's fist smashed into his gut, forcing the breath from him in a ragged cough. She didn't yell, her voice stayed calm, which somehow made it worse. "You know. And you're gonna say it."
Vey: "Hey! The hell's wrong with you, he said he doesn't know!"
Lumeis: "Shut it, rope-boy." She yanked Vey's head back by his hair. "You wanna watch or you wanna join him?"
Cael glared up at them, chest heaving. "You're wasting your damn time."
Lumeis tilted her head, her grin sharpening. "Alright then… let's try a different name. How about… Varn?"
Cael froze. His jaw tightened. "What about him?"
Lumeis: "What is he to you?"
Cael: "I didn't tell Varn anything."
Lumeis chuckled, but her eyes were ice. "Good news then, we don't give a hell about Varn. We killed him days ago."
Vey's eyes widened. "The hell… you just…"
Cael stared at her, disbelief etched on his face. "You just… killed him? Like it's nothing?"
Astrein took another drag, blowing the smoke into his face. "Exactly like it's nothing. Now… let's talk about what you do know. About Crimson Fang. About why you were sniffing around their turf."
Cael: "I told you… "
Her slap cracked across his cheek before he could finish. "Wrong answer. Try again."
The walls seemed to close in, the heat from the cigarette, the weight of their stares, the ropes digging into Vey's wrists, every breath feeling heavier.
Vey: "Damn… you're hella insane."
Lumeis: "Maybe. But we're the ones asking the questions."
The twins closed in tighter, voices sharp and overlapping now, like a verbal crossfire, no space to think, no space to breathe.